Rajasthan Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar stirred a major controversy on February 12, 2026, with his critical comments on the State’s Right to Health Act during the Assembly session. The Act, passed in 2023 under the previous Congress government, guarantees healthcare as a legal right. Mr. Khimsar claimed the law was pushed for political gains ahead of elections and questioned its necessity by pointing to existing schemes like Ayushman Bharat and the Chief Minister’s Ayushman Aarogya Yojana. "What is the need for a law on the right to health?" he asked, sparking loud protests from Congress members who staged a walkout in the House. The incident unfolded during Question Hour when Congress MLA Harimohan Sharma asked about progress in framing the necessary rules under the Act. Opposition leader Tika Ram Jully pressed the government on why rules had not been framed and whether there was a plan to implement the law. The lack of answers led to chaos, and the issue spilled beyond the Assembly walls. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the Health Minister’s remarks and accused the BJP government of yielding to private medical interests. In a post on X, Mr. Gehlot said the Minister’s dismissal of the law "amounts to rubbing salt on the wounds of the poor and middle-class patients troubled by rising medical expenses." Health rights group Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA)-Rajasthan demanded that Mr. Khimsar publicly recognize the intent of the Right to Health Act and urgently notify the rules needed to make the law effective. JSA coordinator Chhaya Pachauli said the government must fulfill its legal duties, as the Act has not been implemented for three years due to missing rules. She added, "The institutional mechanism mandated under the legislation should be strengthened, rather than weakened through misleading public statements." The 2023 Act entitles every Rajasthan resident to emergency medical treatment without prepayment at any public or designated healthcare facility. It requires hospitals to provide treatment without delay over medico-legal formalities and to supply medicines and transport free of charge in emergencies. The law aims to reduce out-of-pocket spending by patients and improve transparency and accountability in healthcare. The Congress party had promised the Right to Health legislation in its 2018 election manifesto. The current dispute highlights ongoing tension over health rights and government commitments in Rajasthan.